Michael Benjamin Bonheur
Encyclopedia
Michael Benjamin was born Michael Benjamin Bonheur in New York City
, New York
, United States
. Benjamin works as a private investor focusing on Internet companies. He was an unsuccessful Republican
candidate for the United States Senate
in 2004.
father that immigrated to the United States from Tehran
in 1950 and a Catholic mother who immigrated from Honduras
.
Soon after Michael's birth the family moved to San Pedro Sula
, Honduras, where his father was relocated with his job at Bank of America
. After about one year in San Pedro Sula they moved to the capital, Tegucigalpa
, for another year. In 1971, the family moved to Lima, Peru and in 1973, they moved to Quito, Ecuador. Michael attended school at the American Cotopaxi Academy.
Several years later, in 1976, the family moved back to the U.S. They settled in the New York City suburb of Greenwich, Connecticut
, where they lived for four years. Michael attended North Street Elementary School. In 1980, the family relocated to Bogotá, Colombia. Michael attended the American school Colegio Nueva Granada
. Soon after, in 1982, they moved to Mexico City
, where Michael attended the American School Foundation
. They left Mexico in 1987 and, after a brief stay in San Francisco, moved back to Greenwich. Michael attended his senior year at Greenwich High School
. While there, he was awarded High Honors by the NAACP for his writing in recognition of Black History Month.
Benjamin attended New York University
where he studied economics and Western literature and was elected president of the student government for his junior and senior years. He received his Bachelor of Arts
in 1992 and shortly thereafter began work as assistant to the president of Richter & Co., Inc., an investment bank in midtown Manhattan
known primarily for launching Cerberus Partners, L.P. a major American hedge fund. He later worked in the insurance industry with American Corporate Benefits, Inc. and the Guardian Life Insurance Company
, before starting his own securities trading and investments business in 1997.
awarded NYBC a community service award for its work on behalf of victims of domestic violence. In 2003, after a 10-year run, NYBC donated its assets to various charitable organizations and ceased operations.
, covering parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Although he lost the race, Benjamin received notable endorsements from Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and the New York Post
. The chairman of the campaign was John C. Whitehead
, former chairman of Goldman Sachs
& Co. and of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
. Whitehead went on to head the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation
, the organization in charge of rebuilding the World Trade Center
after September 11 attacks.
The conservative Benjamin battled with the state GOP
, which decided in August 2004 there would be no primary. Despite his impressive fundraising, the Republican State Committee
nominated moderate Assemblyman Howard Mills to run against Schumer. Mills went on to lose the election in the largest landslide for a Senate seat in the history of New York.
Benjamin publicly accused New York GOP Chairman Sandy Treadwell
and Governor George Pataki
of trying to muscle him out of the Senate race and undermine the democratic process. Many Republican voters were upset when Benjamin was denied the chance to engage in a primary. He had campaigned throughout New York, visiting all 62 counties on several occasions, and had built strong support among political leaders and community groups. In addition, Benjamin received the majority of his financial support in small donations, with only $2,500 from Political Action Committees (PACs). Mills had raised $200,000 less than Benjamin, and a large portion of his campaign contributions came from PACs.
Many New York Republicans were irked again in 2006 when a similar situation unfolded as the state party decided to nominate Westchester County
District Attorney
Jeanine Pirro
over conservative lawyer Ed Cox
, even though Cox had raised over 1.3 million dollars to Pirro's $400,000. There has not been a Republican primary for Senator since 1992.
His platform included simplifying the tax code, lowering taxes, reducing government spending, Social Security private accounts, a strong national defense, and a no-nonsense approach toward Iran, Syria and North Korea. His platform advocated for school choice for "all parents, not just the rich". Benjamin supported banning partial-birth abortion, except for cases where the mother's life is at risk, and abolishing unfunded Medicaid
mandates on municipalities. He also stated he wanted to bring jobs back to New York and limit government intervention in the economy. He espoused many very conservative opinions including support for the war in Iraq and supported both the Patriot Act and the inclusion of Iran as part of the Axis of Evil by President Bush
.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Benjamin works as a private investor focusing on Internet companies. He was an unsuccessful Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
candidate for the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
in 2004.
Personal background
He is the son of a Jewish IranianIranian peoples
The Iranian peoples are an Indo-European ethnic-linguistic group, consisting of the speakers of Iranian languages, a major branch of the Indo-European language family, as such forming a branch of Indo-European-speaking peoples...
father that immigrated to the United States from Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
in 1950 and a Catholic mother who immigrated from Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
.
Soon after Michael's birth the family moved to San Pedro Sula
San Pedro Sula
San Pedro Sula is a city in Honduras. It is located in the northwest corner of the country, in the Valle de Sula , about 60 km south of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean. With an estimated population of 638,259 people in the main municipality, and 802,598 in its metro area , it is the second...
, Honduras, where his father was relocated with his job at Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
. After about one year in San Pedro Sula they moved to the capital, Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa , and commonly referred as Tegus , is the capital of Honduras and seat of government of the Republic, along with its twin sister Comayagüela. Founded on September 29, 1578 by the Spanish, it became the country's capital on October 30, 1880 under President Marco Aurelio Soto...
, for another year. In 1971, the family moved to Lima, Peru and in 1973, they moved to Quito, Ecuador. Michael attended school at the American Cotopaxi Academy.
Several years later, in 1976, the family moved back to the U.S. They settled in the New York City suburb of Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 61,171. It is home to many hedge funds and other financial service companies. Greenwich is the southernmost and westernmost municipality in Connecticut and is 38+ minutes ...
, where they lived for four years. Michael attended North Street Elementary School. In 1980, the family relocated to Bogotá, Colombia. Michael attended the American school Colegio Nueva Granada
Colegio Nueva Granada
Colegio Nueva Granada, is a bilingual private high school in Bogotá, ColombiaColegio Nueva Granada was founded in 1938 by Fred Dever, Doris de Samper and Irving Byington....
. Soon after, in 1982, they moved to Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, where Michael attended the American School Foundation
American School Foundation
The American School Foundation is a school in Mexico City founded by individuals from the U.S. It offers classes from kindergarten through secondary school ....
. They left Mexico in 1987 and, after a brief stay in San Francisco, moved back to Greenwich. Michael attended his senior year at Greenwich High School
Greenwich High School
Greenwich High School is a four-year public high school in Greenwich, Connecticut, United States. The school is part of the Greenwich Public Schools system and serves roughly 2,700 students....
. While there, he was awarded High Honors by the NAACP for his writing in recognition of Black History Month.
Benjamin attended New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
where he studied economics and Western literature and was elected president of the student government for his junior and senior years. He received his Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in 1992 and shortly thereafter began work as assistant to the president of Richter & Co., Inc., an investment bank in midtown Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
known primarily for launching Cerberus Partners, L.P. a major American hedge fund. He later worked in the insurance industry with American Corporate Benefits, Inc. and the Guardian Life Insurance Company
Guardian Life Insurance Company of America
The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America is a Fortune 300 company founded in 1860 in New York, New York. It is the fourth largest mutual life insurance company in the United States.-Current business:...
, before starting his own securities trading and investments business in 1997.
The New York Benevolence Council, Inc.
Along with another graduate of NYU, Benjamin founded the New York Benevolence Council, Inc. in 1993, a non-profit organization which provided mentoring and tutoring in New York City public schools, coordinated food and clothing drives, and organized fund-raisers in support of various humanitarian causes. At its height in the late 1990s and early 2000s, NYBC had over 1,000 young professionals serving as volunteer tutors and mentors to public school students, and organizing fund-raising benefits primarily for women and children who were victims of domestic violence. In 2002, New York City Mayor Michael BloombergMichael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
awarded NYBC a community service award for its work on behalf of victims of domestic violence. In 2003, after a 10-year run, NYBC donated its assets to various charitable organizations and ceased operations.
1996 Congressional Race
In 1996, at the age of 25, Benjamin was the Republican nominee for the U.S. Congress from New York's 8th districtNew York's 8th congressional district
New York's Eighth Congressional District for the United States House of Representatives in New York City. It is split into two sections. The northern portion of it includes most of Manhattan's Upper West Side, and continues south to include most parts of Hell's Kitchen, East Village, Chelsea, SoHo,...
, covering parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Although he lost the race, Benjamin received notable endorsements from Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
. The chairman of the campaign was John C. Whitehead
John C. Whitehead
John Cunningham Whitehead is an American banker and civil servant, currently a board member of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation and, until his resignation in May 2006, chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.-Biography:He was born in Evanston, Illinois...
, former chairman of Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
& Co. and of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Federal Reserve Bank of New York
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is one of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks of the United States. It is located at 33 Liberty Street, New York, NY. It is responsible for the Second District of the Federal Reserve System, which encompasses New York state, the 12 northern counties of New Jersey,...
. Whitehead went on to head the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation
Lower Manhattan Development Corporation
The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation was formed in July 2002, after the September 11 attacks to plan the reconstruction of Lower Manhattan and distribute nearly $10 billion in federal funds aimed at rebuilding downtown Manhattan....
, the organization in charge of rebuilding the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
after September 11 attacks.
2004 Senate Race
In January 2003, Benjamin declared his intentions to run for the United States Senate against incumbent Democrat Chuck Schumer. Initially regarded as a long shot, Benjamin stunned many observers when he quickly raised over $820,000 for the campaign from over 20,000 different individuals.The conservative Benjamin battled with the state GOP
New York Republican State Committee
The New York Republican State Committee is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in New York, headquartered in Albany.-History:...
, which decided in August 2004 there would be no primary. Despite his impressive fundraising, the Republican State Committee
New York Republican State Committee
The New York Republican State Committee is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in New York, headquartered in Albany.-History:...
nominated moderate Assemblyman Howard Mills to run against Schumer. Mills went on to lose the election in the largest landslide for a Senate seat in the history of New York.
Benjamin publicly accused New York GOP Chairman Sandy Treadwell
Alexander Treadwell
Alexander F. "Sandy" Treadwell is an American politician who is a longtime Republican Party political leader in New York. He is currently New York's National Committeeman on the Republican National Committee...
and Governor George Pataki
George Pataki
George Elmer Pataki is an American politician who was the 53rd Governor of New York. A member of the Republican Party, Pataki served three consecutive four-year terms from January 1, 1995 until December 31, 2006.- Early life :...
of trying to muscle him out of the Senate race and undermine the democratic process. Many Republican voters were upset when Benjamin was denied the chance to engage in a primary. He had campaigned throughout New York, visiting all 62 counties on several occasions, and had built strong support among political leaders and community groups. In addition, Benjamin received the majority of his financial support in small donations, with only $2,500 from Political Action Committees (PACs). Mills had raised $200,000 less than Benjamin, and a large portion of his campaign contributions came from PACs.
Many New York Republicans were irked again in 2006 when a similar situation unfolded as the state party decided to nominate Westchester County
Westchester County, New York
Westchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of and has a population of 949,113 according to the 2010 Census, residing in 45 municipalities...
District Attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
Jeanine Pirro
Jeanine Pirro
Jeanine Ferris Pirro is a former prosecutor, judge, and elected official from the state of New York, who is currently a legal analyst and television personality. A Republican from Westchester County, Pirro served as a county court judge before serving as the elected District Attorney of...
over conservative lawyer Ed Cox
Edward F. Cox
Edward Ridley Finch Cox , is the chairman of the New York Republican State Committee and the son-in-law of the late President Richard M. Nixon. Cox is a lawyer in the Manhattan law firm of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP where he has served as the Chairman of the Corporate Department and a...
, even though Cox had raised over 1.3 million dollars to Pirro's $400,000. There has not been a Republican primary for Senator since 1992.
His platform included simplifying the tax code, lowering taxes, reducing government spending, Social Security private accounts, a strong national defense, and a no-nonsense approach toward Iran, Syria and North Korea. His platform advocated for school choice for "all parents, not just the rich". Benjamin supported banning partial-birth abortion, except for cases where the mother's life is at risk, and abolishing unfunded Medicaid
Medicaid
Medicaid is the United States health program for certain people and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the state and federal governments, and is managed by the states. People served by Medicaid are U.S. citizens or legal permanent...
mandates on municipalities. He also stated he wanted to bring jobs back to New York and limit government intervention in the economy. He espoused many very conservative opinions including support for the war in Iraq and supported both the Patriot Act and the inclusion of Iran as part of the Axis of Evil by President Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
.
Electoral history
External links
- Benjamin for Senate 2004 Website, Archive of www.benjamin2004.com
- New York Times profile
- New York Benevolence Council Website, Archive of www.nybc.us
- Save New York Website, Archive of www.savenewyork.org
- National Iranian American Council